Australia has issued termination notices to at least 10 special forces soldiers, said the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Thursday, following last week's damning report on the murder of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners. In a report last week, at least 19 current and former Australian soldiers were referred for potential criminal prosecution for allegedly killing 39 Afghan locals; the majority of whom had been unarmed and captured. None of the 19 soldiers was identified in the report, which was written by a state judge appointed by the inspector-general of defense. The 19 current and former soldiers have been referred for possible prosecution. Amid the immediate fallout, the ABC said 10 soldiers had been formally notified that they would be dismissed. The broadcaster did not identify any of the 10 but said all of them were witnesses or accessories and therefore not among the 19 referred for possible criminal charges. Department of Defense did not immediately comment on the case. Australia's prime minister and top military commander have apologized. Afghanistan called the murders unforgivable but welcomed last week's report as a step toward justice. The report blamed the murders of "prisoners, farmers or civilians" in 2009-13 on an unchecked "warrior culture" among some soldiers. It said 25 special forces soldiers had taken part in unlawful killings directly or as "accessories", across 23 separate incidents. It recommended that 36 incidents in total be investigated by federal police. Australian Defense Force chief Gen. Angus Campbell said none of the incidents could be "described as being in the heat of battle". Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said a special investigator would be appointed to consider prosecutions from information contained in the report. But police investigations could take years, even before possible criminal trials. — Agencies
